Dennis Hallman lost a bet with a couple of training buddies, and as punishment, he had to wear the blue bikini bottoms that burned retinas around the globe this past Saturday at UFC 133.

But he’s not getting fired, and quite frankly, he’s a little concerned with the amount of interest in his shorts.

“I’m not regretful,” Hallman today told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). “It’s not like I’m the first guy to wear Speedos. Maybe I’m the first guy in the modern UFC era to do it. Other than that, there’s nothing for anybody to make a big deal about.”

Those shorts, however, turned out to be quite a big deal. UFC president Dana White said afterward that he was “horrified” by Hallman’s wardrobe, banned such items from ever appearing in the octagon again, and gave a $70,000 bonus to Hallman’s opponent, Brian Ebersole, for dispatching him in the first round with a series of brutal strikes. He said he issued the bonus simply because he got Hallman off TV so quickly.

White also hinted that the UFC employees that checked Hallman out backstage and allowed him to wear the attire could be fired. (Hallman said they laughed and sent him on his way.)

If he’d won the bet, Hallman said his teammates would have been forced to wash a goat, which might have spared the employees of White’s ire.

“Maybe he didn’t like the blue,” Hallman quipped.

As a few astute TV viewers noticed, Hallman’s short shorts inadvertently exposed the family jewels during one ground scramble. Still, he’s a little shocked that the whole episode has taken on a life of its own, especially since he said the shorts aren’t banned.

“People are sick, disgusting perverts,” Hallman said. “They’ll break the film down frame-by-frame so they can get a little ball action. That’s kind of strange. They have problems.”

The real story, Hallman said, is that he fought Ebersole with essentially one arm. Although he was able to take the Aussie transplant’s back almost from the get-go, he couldn’t hold the position without the use of his right arm and wound up reversed against the cage, where Ebersole pounded away with elbows.

One of those shots put him briefly to sleep, which prompted the referee to step in.

Two days prior to UFC 133, Hallman sustained a serious elbow injury that forced him to seek medical attention. He did not, however, withdraw from the fight.

“When it boils down to it, I didn’t have any go with my right arm,” he said. “I’m actually heading to the specialist down in Oregon to get it checked out. It’s 21 inches in diameter right now.”

On Sunday, Hallman visited a local hospital and was given IV antibiotics and morphine for the pain he was experiencing. He’ll get more antibiotics today and will get a full prognosis for his elbow.

“I pray for a rematch against that guy because I know I could smash him,” Hallman said. “I just have to be healthy. Literally, I can’t bend my wrist and touch my shoulder with my wrist. I couldn’t hit pads to warm up.

“I was going to try to get to the best position I could and try to finish him. If it worked out, it worked out. If it didn’t, I was going to be in a whole load of trouble, which is where I found myself.”

It looks like the recovery room is where the welterweight is next headed. He’s got a funny story to tell fellow patients, too.

Meanwhile, his brother-in-law has named his fantasy football team, “Rear Naked Poke.”

Is he a board shorts guy now?

“Not if I lose some bets,” Hallman jokes. “If I lose some bets, I’m going to have to call Uncle Dana and ask him for permission first. Which I don’t think I’ll get.”

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